


George's Lament

by pipisafoat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-25
Updated: 2006-07-25
Packaged: 2017-11-19 07:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipisafoat/pseuds/pipisafoat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>I</i> am an individual.  <i>We</i> are not an individual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	George's Lament

Ron thought he had it bad, being the last of six boys. Ginny thought she had it bad, being the little sister of six boys, the baby of the family. But they at least always know their name. Their friends know who they are.

Fred thinks it's funny when Lee gets confused and calls us by the wrong names. Granted, this happens most often on the Quidditch pitch, but it still happens out of team robes. Even when he's close enough to see the differences in our faces.

Lee's known us since we were eleven. We met him in a joke shop in Diagon Alley when the three of us had all snuck away from our mothers. It closed in our second year, but stayed empty. We bought it for our premises for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, partly because we had decided to hire Lee, or rather to make him an equal partner. But we've known each other for eight years now. You would think he could tell us apart by now.

Even just looking at us. Fred's face is narrower, his hair is shorter, and he keeps it out of his face. He's shorter, his eyes are lighter, and his birthmark is on his right cheek. Mine is on my left cheek and my longer hair is often in my face. 

We act differently, too. I mean, sure, we have our moments of "one brain in two bodies", but not as much as when we were younger. Fred's more outgoing. He's always hyper whereas I'm more laid back. He's the one who works the counter and chats with the customers, coming up with the ideas. I put them in motion; it's me doing the actual inventing in the back room. I'm more responsible than he is, more methodical, but he's really the genius who just can't be bothered to do all the work. And while people confusing us may not bother Fred, it does me. Yet another difference between us.

People say we're not smart because we got three owls each. They don't know why we only got three each, though. Fred's fault. He got distracted, bored really, and started talking to me. It's kind of hard to concentrate on History of Magic or Care of Magical Creatures theory when Fred's in your head, talking about a new idea to put into motion.

Our owls were in Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration. We only did maybe half of the actual theory, but it was apparently enough to scrape A's. Our practicals in those three were pretty much flawless. We're not stupid. We just think our talents are better served inventing.

And they are. Dumbledore told us we were one of the Order's greatest assets, because it was our job to invent useful trinkets in the real world. That's what we do for the Order too.

Just before we sat our OWLs, I finished the prototype for a new potion. Fred of course wanted to test it, so I agreed. We drank it at the same time, holding hands. It should have physically joined us at our hands, but instead joined our minds. That's how Fred managed to talk to me in the middle of our OWLs - it hadn't worn off yet.

I made Fred come with me to see Dumbledore later that day. I had been listening to Mum and Dad and knew a war would be coming, and I saw how this could help us. Dumbledore questioned me closely about how I had made it and Fred about how he had come up with the idea for all the potions. Somehow, he knew already that I had made it. After that, if I needed something for a potion, instead sending Fred, I would go talk to Dumbledore.

Not only was Dumbledore a brilliant wizard and one of our key testers and supporters, he was also a great man. He helped me prepare a couple potions when I needed an extra hand and Fred couldn't be bothered. He took orders from me when I was only sixteen and experimenting. In return, I tried not to bother him too much when he was busy, and never told anyone else about our strange...friendship; I suppose you could call it.

He could always tell us apart too. He even corrected Professor McGonagall once when she was about to give me a detention Fred should have had. He never called me Fred when I visited him, or even Mr. Weasley the way teachers did when they weren't sure who I was. He just knew that somehow that would make me mad.

One day when I visited him, he told me to sit down and vent because the potion wouldn't turn out right with me "in that state of mind". So I sat and talked with him about what was bothering me (Lee confusing us, Mum getting mixed up - the usual). Okay, so I didn't talk, I yelled and ranted. Dumbledore listened, then he suggested some ways to deal with it. And to this day, I still use one suggestion: purposefully call the offender by someone else's name. Preferable someone undesirable such as Filch. Then act like it was a mistake. It works.

Harry's pretty much always been able to tell us apart, too. I often wonder how; we've never spent much time with him, but he can. He also refers to us like we're separate human beings. Fred did this or George said that. Better than Ron, he just calls us "the twins" even if it was only one of us.

I guess that's really the heart of the issue. I like people to realize that I am my own person. I just want my friends and family to know one thing, and to show they know it.

_I_ am an individual. _We_ are not an individual.


End file.
